Does that sound like a paperclip optimizer? Because it certainly looks like a paperclip optimizer. Think of it: eventually humanity goes extinct because the whole world is land mines...

Well if it's solar powered, we can easily take it out with an inexpensive sticky black paint bomb. Second, while you won't run out of water, you will run out of other stuff for your hydrogen IED drones.

Now a much better thing to do instead of making IED drones would be to melt sand or rock into appropriately formed projectiles so that one has an autonomous artillery piece that does not require reloading.

There are much better explosives to use than hydrogen. One could use the haber process to make ammonia and use some biological carbon sources to make pretty much any explosive worth using.

Landmines are probably cheaper though.

This is pretty much the premise of Philip Dick's Second Variety, made into the movie Screamers.

Thanks for the tip. I didn't know that one had any kind of movie adaptation.

Screamers is surprisingly underrated. It's one of the best pop-sci-fi movies from nineties imho.

The ending to that story was particularly delightful.

arms race has it all taken care of - in response to autonomous IED making drones there will be autonomous drones clearing up the minefields and hunting down those IED making and installing drones. Of course to deal with the hunter drones the IED making/installing drones will have special protector drones ... Humans just need to relax in the deep soft chair and enjoy the popcorn.